What You Need To Know About Climate Change Ahead Of Next Week’s UN Summit

A fresh round of international climate negotiations, called COP24, kicks off in Poland next week. This annual event brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, the private sector and local community representatives to debate how to address climate change and put in place policies to tackle it. Here are some of the key things you need to know.

1. Climate Change Is Already HappeningClimate change is not just a future concern; it’s happening now. The 20 warmest years on record have been in the past 22 years, with the top four being the last four years, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

2. Humans Have A Lot To Answer ForEvery four years, the U.S. government is required by law to produce a National Climate Assessment. The first volume of the most recent edition, which was issued last year, concluded that “it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.”